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Monday, October 6, 2014

Quilt Rack Painted in Dried Lavender Milk Paint

It's been a while since I posted a project completed with milk paint and since there's a chill in the air that makes you want to reach for a cozy blanket, I figured today would be a good day to share some photos of a quilt rack that I recently painted. I've had this piece for many years and it has been displayed in various places within our home. I had purchased it at a craft fair with the intention of staining and varnishing it at some point, but as you can see, I never did. The rack had some nice details, and I felt that with my new found love of milk paint, there was a lot I could do to enhance these features and certainly make it look more "finished" when on display as well as while displaying various quilts. afghans and blankets in our home. Deciding to paint it was the easy part. Deciding what color to use was more of a challenge. The Miss Mustard Seed line of milk paint has many pretty colors to choose from. Since this piece was smaller than some of the other pieces of furniture I planned on painting, I decided that I could choose a color that I might not pick for one of the larger pieces. So, I decided to give the dried lavender paint a try. Since the piece was previously unfinished, I did not add the bonding agent as the wood would soak up much of the paint, and given that it was raw wood, it would not chip. I initially thought that I would create some distressed features after painting and then use the MMS furniture wax or white wax to finish the piece. However, once I completed 2 coats of paint, my family said they liked it without a distressed or. "chippy" look. Instead of the wax, I ended up opting to start with the hemp oil. According to the Miss Mustard Seed blog, you can wax after using hemp oil if you choose to, but not the other way around. So, I figured starting with hemp oil, which is very easy to apply, would be a safe way to start. If the finish wasn't quite what I was looking to achieve, I could always wax or white wax after that. I've used the hemp oil a couple of times before with various colors, and I must say it never ceases to amaze me with how much it enhances and adds depth to the shade. It really brings out the beauty of the paint as you can see in the photo below, where the top part has hemp oil applied and the bottom does not. You can also see that the milk paint did chip in one area on the rack, but it added to the uniqueness of the piece.

When I was applying the paint, I thought it was a really pretty color, but depending on the light I was working in, I thought it had a blue or sometimes grey tint to it, not necessarily a true lavender color. But, when I placed some dried lavender next to the finished piece, I had to admit that Marion (aka Miss Mustard Seed) and Homestead House, the company that produces the line of milk, paint really nailed the color. Don't you agree?

Before I show you the finished product, I want to share why I ultimately decided to try the dried lavender color on this particular piece. Last year, shortly after I came home from the hospital after my accident, the mother of one of my daughter's friends arrived on our door step with an amazing gift. The mom and daughter had crocheted and sewed a beautiful afghan for me. They are incredibly talented and the mom is a gifted quilter as well. The afghan they created was comprised of cheerful shades of purple, pink and white. I knew that I was going to display the afghan on this quilt rack when it wasn't being used, and therefore that color palate is what ultimately helped me decide on what milk paint to choose for this project. I love how it turned out and each time I walk past it, I am reminded of the very kind family that gave me the special gift, as well as the many hours we had spent together on the bleachers watching our daughters play softball. The girls were young when they played on that travel softball league, and now they are in high school and starting to make plans for their futures. Again I am reminded of how quickly time passes and how important it is to treasure all those little moments. It doesn't matter if those moments are on the sidelines of a sporting event, having conversations at the dinner table, or being curled up on the sofa under a warm afghan watching a movie together. It's those seemingly little moments with family and friends that become our cherished memories in the chapters of our lives. .